Some food items can be harmful to dogs. It is easy to know about them and avoid them in your dog’s meal plan. But there are other common ingredients that are usually not harmful to dogs, but some dogs might be allergic to them. Accidentally feeding your dog one such ingredient might lead to food allergies accompanied by a variety of symptoms. This is why it is helpful to know about dog food allergies treatments.

1. Preventive measures
Keeping the allergens away from your dog would be the most effective solution. But it might take a while for you to observe your dog’s allergies and come up with a healthy diet plan. When you are introducing any new food item, ensure that you only give it in small quantities. Wait for at least three days before you introduce another new ingredient. Look for allergic reactions on the skin like excessive itching or inflammation or changes in your dog’s appetite.

2. Talk to your vet about an elimination diet
Once your dog has started showing allergic reactions, no matter how severe or mild they are, talk to the vet about an elimination diet. This would be a mild diet that is gentle on the dog’s stomach while also having a good nutritional value. There would be no allergens in the elimination diet. You can create a meal plan involving home-cooked food for the elimination diet, or there are some safe and mild commercial dog foods for this. Based on your dog’s health, the vet might recommend a suitable elimination diet to follow for the next eight weeks. This would be roughly the time taken for the harmful effects of the allergens to wear off. Rashes and other visible signs as well as digestion problems in dogs suffering from food allergies might slowly subside when the elimination diet is followed for a few weeks.

3. Hydrolyzed protein options
The key is to include protein in your dog’s diet without using ingredients that cause allergies. This is where hydrolyzed proteins come into the picture. These are simple forms of proteins that are easy to assimilate into the dog’s body. This can be handy especially when your dog is allergic to common ingredients like chicken.

4. Medications
Allergic reactions in dogs sometimes appear in the form of redness or itchiness on the skin. Some might also develop visible rashes. For all such physical symptoms, dog food allergies treatments involve the use of a rash cream or allergy cream on the skin. This will help in soothing itchiness and preventing the dog from losing its fur due to excess itching.

Every pet parent should know about dog food allergies treatments. This helps you undertake quick measures to relieve your dog of discomfort and treat any allergic reactions before they become a serious concern.